Strawberry Field reunion planned for former residents and staff

Feb 26 2013 by Lorna Hughes, Liverpool Echo

FORMER residents and staff from Strawberry Field Liverpool children’s home immortalised by the Beatles song will be reunited next month.

The reunion for Strawberry Field children’s home will take place in Liverpool city centre on March 16.

The event is being organised by Sean Dwyer, who lived at Strawberry Field for four years.

The name of the home became world famous in 1967 with the release of The Beatles’ single Strawberry Fields Forever – the extra "s" was added by the band.

Mr Dwyer, 23, who now lives in Wigan with his partner, said: "It is something I have been thinking about since the home closed.

"People have gone their separate ways and got on with their lives, but now it is eight years down the line I thought it was time to do something."

The Strawberry Field site, in Woolton, was purchased by the Salvation Army in the 1930s and was used as the charity’s children’s home.

It was saved from closure in 1984 by a cash donation from John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, but finally shut in 2005.

At the time, the Salvation Army said it was preferable for children to be cared for by a foster family.

Mr Dwyer, a volunteer for a radio station, said he had fond memories of his time at Strawberry Field.